10 Reasons Deployment Can Be Awesome.

Yes, you did read that right, there can sometimes be an upside to a deployment. While for obvious reasons, it sucks, you still need to find the good things that come out of a deployment; otherwise you end up sitting around just being sad. Sad does not look good on anyone, unless you are Farah from teen mom. Man, can that girl cry beautifully or what? I am totally kidding and if you have never had the pleasure of seeing her "cry face" I am sincerely jealous of you. So here we go...

Being sad is for suckers!

10. Center of Attention.
Since my husband left, I am officially the favorite "parent" to our fur-pup Stella. So what if it is by default and come this time next month it will no longer be true. Right now I am soaking up every ounce of cuddles and kisses I can get.

I'll always love you more mom... No one believes you Stella!

9. Gaining Independence.
Before I moved to NC with my husband, I lived at home with my parents still ( no rent, home cooked meals, and my mother had my clothes in the washer before the even hit the dirty laundry hamper... why on earth did I leave.. oh yeah, I fell in love).. Thankfully the man I married loves to spoil me, or has come to terms with my spoiled/lazy ways, and has always taken care of doing the dishes, laundry, and other household chores. Since Taylor has been gone, I've learned that the chores MUST be done. The light bulbs won't change themselves, along with the battery in the smoke detector. I have even learned where our tools are located and how to use them. I have even learned to improvise; for example did you know when a hammer is not handy, you can use the remote control? Seriously though, any object you throw hard enough at a spider will kill it....

8. Grocery Shopping.
I am actually one of those people who love to grocery shop, but when the person you share the kitchen with is deployed, ahhh grocery shopping just becomes that much better! Goodbye hamburger helper, hello Indian food.

7. Never shutting the bathroom door.
I realize there are some couples that are so open with each other, there is never a closed door. Good for you, We are not one of those couples. I don't care if I'm taking a shower, brushing my teeth, or taking a sophisticated tinkle, I'd prefer the door to be shut. This might be the hardest thing for me to get back into the habit of doing when husband returns home.

6. Appreciation.
When you are forced to be apart from the one you love, the one who knows you better than anybody, you really learn to appreciate them even more. You miss the little things, even the annoying ones. Someone remind me of this when I'm being serenaded by one of my husbands cheesy songs, the ones that are always way too early in the morning.

5. Girl time.
Taylor and I have never been one of those couples that had a hard time balancing friend and married people time, but it can be bittersweet knowing you don't have to compare plans with anyone and just go ahead and make them. While I miss having my husband around, and all the perks that apply to having a husband, I'm also very blessed to have some amazing girlfriends who have been there for me through this deployment. Deployment is good for friendships.

4. Hobbies.
While my husband is learning new ones, like scuba diving, I am re-falling in love with old ones. Something as simple as reading more books is a little more enjoyable when you're on your own ((sorry babe)). But seriously, it is so hard to read when your husband stops you and wants to know why you're laughing. Book-buzz kill.

3. The whole bed.
Well, maybe not the whole bed, but since Taylor has been gone, Stella has learned that I really like to stretch out and keeps her distance, laying on Taylor's side of the bed (with his pillow and all)! This may be an even harder adjustment than number 7 upon his arrival home (sorry, again, babe!).

2. Shopping with out judgment.
It turns out, my husband would actually prefer me to buy clothes, he actually encourages it quite often. Mainly because I don't, buy clothes, hardly ever. I'm not a normal girl and I don't love clothes shopping. However, going to a thrift shop and buying crap to decorate with, well sign me up for that! Crap I don't need from Target? Yep, no one to tell me no. Don't get me wrong, Taylor could care less what I buy to hang on the walls from good will or target, but it is nice not to have the suggestion of a lava lamp next to it... I also have enjoyed adding more bath and bodywork's soaps to my collection, without being called a hoarder (I'm a collector, not a hoarder Damn it!).

1. The homecoming.
This has got to be the number one reason deployment, is awesome. I always secretly envied girls who experienced these amazing homecomings, not the part that led up to it, but the running into each others arms. I'm convinced this moment actually happens in slow motion, like life literally slows down. Don't tell me it doesn't, because after these 11 months, I KNOW time can slow down, sometimes stop. The idea of this homecoming has been the goal this whole time, and it going to be one of the best moments, hands down, in my entire life!

Hurry Up December!

5 Things Cooler Than Celebrating Halloween.

Being a troll is cooler than anything, incase you were wondering.

Thanks to Erin, I know I am not alone in being STOKED  just fine about not celebrating Halloween.

{{5}}

Working. Clearly I would rather be at work than celebrating Halloween. I am only saying this, because that is actually what I will be doing on Halloween. I really have no desire to do anything Halloween related, but I would still prefer sitting on my couch over going to work. So maybe working isn't cooler than celebrating Halloween... whatever, this year, it is!

{{4}}

Cleaning. Not the normal laundry and dishes type cleaning, but the "throwing out crap I have accumulated over the past year and getting ready for our move in December" type cleaning. Do not get me wrong, I really love to holiday decorate, but I am over this tiny apartment. That being said, I am a little more than OK with not getting my decorations from the bottom of storage out for the holidays.

{{3}}

Being warm. As a child I vividly remember having cold toes while trick or treating. As a college student I vaguely remember (thanks alcohol), having a lot more than my toes cold. Stupid slutty costumes (read: come back skinny body, I miss you).

Those eyelashes look so natural...

{{2}}

Listening to feel good music is waaaaay cooler than listening to creepy music (which makes me check behind my shower curtain 12 times, as opposed to 10, before going to bed). Have you seen this video? I love it.

{{1}}

Drinking wine in my pajamas. To be honest, I can cure a sweet tooth much quicker with a dry glass of red wine, before stuffing my face with sugary milk duds that get all up in my grillllllll. Also who wants to stand in line waiting to do a keg stand? Not I friends, I have a box of wine with it's own tap... I mean... Happy Halloween!

Oh, Alice...

Going Home Is Good For The Soul.

I recently returned home to the wondrous place that is, Indiana. I actually am not a huge fan of Indiana, just the people there. However, the one thing I truly miss about the state of Indiana, is fall. It is so beautiful there in the fall, and we just do not get that kind of beauty here at the beach, this time of year. If you have ever moved away from home, you know going back is a bit exhausting. Trying to see everyone and make time for your loved ones is hard, especially when they don't all live in the same town. Typically when I go home, one of my best friends, who lives 2 hours away, comes down for one night, we go out to the bar, have a wonderful time, and then the poor girl has to get up early and drive the 2 hours home (hungover), because she is a mommy (thankfully her husband always helps out and lets her have a night out with me!).  While we have a fantastic time, it is never enough time; plus I don't get to see her fabulous children and sweet husband. After the year the bestie and I have had, there was no question we needed more than one night together. So my first 3 days were spent at her house before I even went home to see my mama!

Being in Kindergarten is tough, fell asleep while eating his after school snack.

She is such a diva! Love her

Breanna and her sweet little girl picked me up from the airport the Wednesday I flew in. I loved every moment of girl time with my dear friend, as well as sweet cuddles from Eva (the diva), and listening to her incredibly smart son read me his stories. Breanna's son, Ethan, is only 5. but watch out world... he is quite the character, and so, so smart. I loved listening to Ethan read me his stories he wrote himself. Not all the words were spelled write, but you could clearly tell he sounded them out and tried his best. Too precious. And one night Breanna invited her sister in laws over for a some sangria's and pumpkin decorating. We also played Ellen DeGeneres's game heads up (download now, you will love it!!!!!).


My Pumpkin.



Decorating pumpkins! Check out that mama multi-tasking!

No one told me super targets have Starbucks!!! Target is fun for all ages, clearly.

Making some yummy Sangrias!

The good thing about my best friend living 2 hours away from my hometown and where I usually spend a majority of my time, is that my father-in-law and bonus mother-in-law (husbands step mother) live 10 minutes down the road. It is so nice that my in laws invite my best friend and her family over for family events (they even donated their old play set to my bestie for her children!). Since I was in their neck of the woods, they picked me up one night for dinner. It was a really nice place on the water, and I enjoyed being able to catch up with them.

My last day with Breanna was spent at the Covered Bridge Festival. If you are not from the area you have no idea what you're missing. It is a huge festival centered around the beautiful covered bridges Indiana has  to offer. It is literally miles of walking around buying crafts (read junk), and eating all of your favorite fair food (read people of walmart unite). After we were full my mom and dad met us half way. Mom asked me if I wanted to drive or sit in the back with my sweet nephew Noah. Umm.. that was a no brainer.

Once I was home, I got to spend some quality time with my family. My nephew Noah recently turned one and his birthday party was that Sunday. I love that my husbands family is so awesome and came down to celebrate. My mother in law and bonus father in law were there. Along with the best sister in law and my other amazing nephew, Caedmon. Noah and Caedmon are 25 days apart, and with their red hair and blue eyes you would think they were blood related. I love watching the two of them together and watching them both grow. They are so close in age, but clearly two different little men. Their personalities are so sweet to be around. Caedmon wakes full of smiles and eager to play. Noah wakes full of attitude and cuddles. The party went well, and I was even nice to my oldest brother (per my sisters' request). I even invited him to our family dinner that was happening that following Tuesday. He told me he was thinking about hunting that night. I told him that was fine, but not to expect me to talk to him again. He was there for dinner, I like him again...

Junk for days!

Waking up to these three faces never gets old!



Who wouldn't be happy about getting naked and eating cake?

And because you can't just go to the covered bridge fest once, I rounded up some of my fave ladies for round 2! (mom, mother in law, sisters and sis in law, and don't forget those sweet ginger babies!).  While short, I did spend some time with old friends as well. I had drinks and appetizers with my dear friend Christena, and even got to catch up with a friend of 15 years. He is a cop now, and he let me ride along with him. It was really nerve racking at first, but then it was just pure adrenaline. Not that we really had an exhilarating chase, but I did get to turn the lights on, that makes me a cop. Therefore, please refer to me now as , officer HeatherRight.

Such an amazing friend.

8 years difference between these two pictures.

One nephew is happier than the other one to be at the Bridge Festival.

HOW TO CEASE BOREDOM

Sometimes I find myself unjustifiably bored. There is nothing good on TV, I have read all my favorite blogs, and pajamas are on and bra is off; so you know I'm not going anywhere. I could very easily read a book, or tackle one of my 203485043 projects cluttering my spare bedroom, but that just seems logical. Instead, I choose to do other things.

I like to sing really loudly and obnoxiously.. to my dog. I can tell the sheer joy she gets when I do this, because she shows her gratification by running away to the farthest room possible. She is sweet like that.

Wishing she was deaf right about now...

 Sometimes, I get off my favorite spot on the couch, light some candles and add more clutter to my mantle. Adding more shit to something is kind of like remodeling your home, right? Right.

Too Much?

And when my boredom has really reached an all time low, I recall conversations that happened earlier that day. Like on Friday when two of my grown, adult, co-workers were discussing their new found obsession with playing pokemon online. I was really in shock to hear that instead of like every other American out there, they were not indulging in candy crush, but were reliving their childhoods with those creepy little characters. Later that night, curiosity (and boredom) got the best of me and I text one of the said coworkers for the website.

Turns out I suck at video games and couldn't figure it out anyways.

On Saturday, due to a sick pup and windy weather, plans of camping were cancelled. Insert another case of boredom. One of my favorite things to do is go hunting for deals at all the thrift shops this town has to offer. While it is always fun to look, some days you just don't find anything worth cluttering your home for. So to entertain your bored self, you find the ugliest 1980's wedding dress, and make your bestie try it on.

Laughing is good for the soul, and our souls were well that day in the vintage values dressing room.

And if you are still trying to find ways to forget how bored you are, always remember that Pinterest is a bottomless pit of entertaining ideas.

And just like that...

This deployment is coming to an end. It is not super close, but it is around the corner (thank God!). I had all these goals I was going to accomplish, some worked out, some didn't. Become healthy and lose weight? Well I have lost a little and dropped a size, but not because of a healthier lifestyle unfortunately. What can I say? I really like cheese, potatoes, and booze. Whatevs. I did finish 5 courses for school and can't wait to be moved and finish with it! Other things I have accomplished:

I am officially at the top of the list when it comes to bath and body works addicts.

I have almost successfully completed the whole season of lost (wtf is going on is this show?).

I had the ultimate bitch-fit meltdown/ pity party night to myself.

I spent exactly one day on the beach all summer long. Now that the tourist are gone, I plan to spend a little more time there.

I went to carowinds for the first time.

Spent lots of quality time with one of my favorites (mostly drinking wine and playing cards on the back porch.).

I took advantage of things my husband hates. Such as eating at my favorite place, indochine. And also getting Stella's nails painted as much as possible.

I also discovered what it feels like to be in the backseat of a car with 35+ balloons.

Can you see me?

And since my time here is coming towards an end, the bestie and I have made a bucket list of things to do before I leave. Just to name a few.

Go Camping.

Eat lots of oysters (for me, not her).

Go to Beaufort and see the wild horses on the beach.

Source

Go Kayaking.

Go fishing.

Check out the state fair next month.

Check out a concert and other live music events.

Go the mountains for a weekend (or 2!).

And whatever else strikes our fancy. The countdown has officially begun!!

A few words from the husband.

Well I still have not figured out how to put my picture on the side of this blog, but I have managed to discover link ups. Since this is just something to keep myself entertained while husband is gone, I really like showing up when someone else tells me what to write about.  And today's link up didn't even involve me having to write it. Score!

 

Today I am linking up with Mal over at Mal Smiles, for her "boys behind the blog" series. Since most of my communication with the husband is through e-mail, I simply sent him the questions and said "Answer these". To my surprise he immediately responded and didn't even ask me why. To be honest I think he thought it was a fun game, because he only asked that I answer them too. I think had I told him what I was doing with these questions, he may have answered a little differently, especially the last question. Either way here goes.

 

1. If you were an animal, what animal would you be?

    Marine animal... Mermaid

    Land animal... silver back gorilla, unless I can choose a
specific animal then I would choose some rich persons dog

Taylor with the Coast Guard dog, Kale.

2. What is your favorite meal?

    Big juicy steak... MMmmm


3. Do you use any forms of Social Media? What is your favorite?

    Facebook

I may be bias, but I just can't get over how adorable my husband is!

4. Beer, wine, liquor, other, or none of the above?

    Well if I cant have all of them I guess its liquor

5. Complete the sentence: "Never have I ever..."


    Never have I ever peed in someone's shampoo bottle

Back in the day when I rocked the brunette look for a while.

Mal Smiles

Living with roommates

Isn't it funny how a small noise can trigger a memory? Tonight I had that type of moment; I was sitting on the couch when the smoke detector went off ((low battery)). While most would think this would remind me of the time I caught ramen noodles on fire (I forgot to add water...), it reminded me of a late night with my old roommate.

Remember when you were in college living with roommates having the time of your life? Yeah, my roommate situation was a little different. I lived at home with my parents until I was 23 and moved to NC with a man who is now my husband. So where do the roommates come in to play? Doesn't every newlywed couple move in with another newlywed couple? No? OK, well hear me out. After a little over a year of living in a tiny apartment, Taylor decided it was time to move on, and since we lived near the beach we might as live at the beach. Taylor was looking at some houses for rent at work one day when he and a co-worker started talking about getting a nice house together at the beach, since it's so expensive to live at the beach. When Taylor first approached me with this idea I thought to myself "hell no". But then I reconsidered and asked who. It was a newly engaged couple we had hung out with only a handful of times. I finally agreed, telling Taylor if I could live with any other couple it would be them.

They drove 15 hours to spend one day at our wedding in Indiana!

I just knew it was going to be a great set up. The boys worked the same schedule, so when they were gone, they were both gone together and then it was just like only living with another girl. The boys were already pretty great friends from working together, and I just knew Katie and I were going to be the best of friends. I knew we wouldn't annoy each other, mainly because we worked opposite schedules and we were also day and night when it came to personalities. Katie is a lot more quite than I am. I envisioned how great it would finally be to live with another female (whom I wasn't related to!), I would wake up early on Saturday mornings and crawl in bed with Katie for morning giggles while our men made us breakfast. We lived together for almost 3 years and this picture I had envisioned never happened. First off, I don't get up early, second of all... our men do not make breakfast. Truth be told, my husband never cooks, and her husband's cooking pretty much always involves a grill.

Girls buy matching shoes, boys grow matching creeper mustaches.

So while our friendships were not exactly how I had planned them, they were so much more than I could have ever asked for. After hearing about other peoples horror stories with their roommates, I can't believe how easy we had it. There were never fights or awkward moments. Katie and Colton became family. Katie and I never did have that morning of giggles while the boys slaved over pancakes, but you better believe that biatch was there for me when I woke up and my eye was swollen shut, from a spider bite, and drove my scary looking self to pick up medicine. Poor Katie also had to drive Taylor to the store when he had just had lasick surgery; imagine a drunk, white, Stevie wonder look a like walking around your grocery store with a sweet blond hair blue eyed southern bell quietly giving small children candy behind his back and trying to convince them he isn't normally this creepy (or something like that). And Colton might not have ever made pancakes, but was always willing to throw down on the grill for dinner, hang pictures on the wall, and kill spiders with out having to be asked twice. True friends right there.

So back the point of this post, the smoke detector. The home we lived in was a brand new, beautiful 3 story town home, equipped with hard wired smoke detectors. Meaning: if one would go off, for whatever reason, every single other smoke detector would go off. So late one night, the boys were at work, Katie had been well asleep for hours, and I had just got off work sitting on the couch enjoying a bottle glass of wine. All of sudden the whole house started beeping like crazy, this had happened a week prior and all we had to do was touch one and the whole house was quite again. Well this particular night, the press of a button was not cutting it. The alarms stopped for a whole 30 minutes before they started again. We tried calling the fire department and no one answered. I freaked and called 911 and then realized it wasn't really an emergency and hung up. DON'T DO THIS!  It didn't even ring, but they called back anyways. I apologized for hanging up, and they told us to immediately evacuate the premises. So there Katie and I sat at 3 am waiting for whomever to show up. The fire department did show up and thankfully didn't cause a huge scene, since we basically lived in a retirement community and our neighbors hated us ( the fact that we rented and were two couple living together made them think there were freaky things going on.. there were not!). Some 45 minutes later the fire department was clueless and just decided to do a hard reset on our system and we were finally free to go back inside. It was not funny at the time, but I am thankful now to have that memory with such a sweet "sister" now, that can be rekindled with the simple beep of a smoke detector.

Who knew friends could turn into sisters?

Love her!

Say Whaaaat?

Today's topic for blogtember was to take this personality test, and discuss the results. So here goes...

My results said that I am a: Extraverted Sensing Feeling Judging. It goes on to say things that I really didn't think were true to me. Such as "Guardians of birthdays"... HA! I barely remember my own birthday. It also says that my personality type likes to be in charge. Nope not me. I want someone else to take charge and just give me direction. I'm so indecisive about EVERYTHING, being in charge actually makes my eye twitch ((kidding.. kind of.)).

My face looked the same when I saw today's prompt.

It also went on to say people with my personality type are great in an education field (been there, tried that, didn't like it), or to try something in the medical field. I have thought about this, I have also thought about my strong dislike for needles, and that tends to outweigh the rest of my decision. I pretty much thought this personality test was a bust, other than the fact that Molly Weasley is also a ESFJ. Heyyyyy Harry Potter!

Who needs a personality test with a face like this? I think it says it all...

 

 

He was going to get me?

Ever since I was little, I have been talking in my sleep or walking in my sleep, sometimes both. The older I have become I have learned that drinking liquor intensifies these little habits of mine. One time, the husband and I were in California and I woke up outside of our hotel. Trying to explain to the front desk why you don't have your hotel room keys or ID at 3 am is a little difficult. Add in a passed out husband not answering the phone, and you have an end result of being escorted to your room by security so they can check your credibility. The next day it was funny, not so much that night though. However, it didn't really seem scary (at the time, thinking about it now, holy shit, I could have been killed!).


Boozin it up in San Diego. Yah, I should have known what was coming...

However, the time I'm going to share with you when I was really afraid, for day 5 of blogtember, isn't an alcohol related incident. My husband's job, when stateside the last four years, kept him on a schedule of home 3, at work 2, and vice versa. I had already gone to bed because Taylor and I were going on vacation the next day and he would be home early from work. Taylor called me around midnight and told me he would be home around 2:00 am when his rounds were done. I don't know if it was because I had already convinced myself that he wasn't home that night or what, but when I heard him come in that night I yelled "Taylor, is that you?", he jokingly responded in a deeper voice "no, its John, the maintenance man". HAHA very funny. I rolled over and went back to sleep.


"John the maintenance man" in the flesh folks (not allowed near schools.... due to his creepy mustache)

A little while after Taylor came home, he came to bed. I tend to sleep with the t.v. on because I am terrified slightly afraid of the dark. I have also learned the background noise helps to keep me from sleep walking. When my husband came to bed, he made the mistake of turning off the t.v. As soon as he pulled back the sheets to his side of the bed, Taylor said that I shot up like I was on fire and crawled across the bed to him fast as lightening. I then proceeded to try and hit him while yelling "No, stop it!". He said he kept trying to gently wake me up by saying "baby, it's me". He ran to my side of the bed and just kind of held me. I finally woke up, and my heart was racing. I was genuinely scared; and had no idea why. Taylor told me what happened, and said he felt bad because he knew I was legitimately scared. After that we laid back down to go to sleep and my heart was still racing. And then I couldn't stop laughing. I seriously had the giggles for 20 minutes. Husband wasn't quite as amused by it as I was, but I just couldn't help to think how ridiculous the whole incident must have looked to a "fly on the wall". That was the last time Taylor ever pretended to be someone else ;-)


I didn't listen.

Today's challenge for blogtember : Pass on some useful advice or information you learned and always remembered.
A good friend of mine doesn't believe in marriage, she has no desire to be married and doesn't normally support people being married. Thankfully when she found out Taylor and I were going to get married, she said we were perfect together and she would approve just this one time (phew!). But she also told me not to have a wedding. She told me to save myself the money and the stress of planning a huge party She said we should elope, take the money intended for a wedding and do something we would never forget. Best advice ever!

I didn't listen.

I had the wedding, I spent the money (well husband spent the money), I had the stress. But I also made memories I'll never forget. Would I do it all over again? Probably not. I'd probably elope. Luckily I'll never have to worry about this because my husband is stuck with me forever (you hear that husband??). Our three year wedding anniversary is this month, and since we can't be together this year; I've decided to make some more memories, in the same dress I wore on our wedding day. I won a free photography session at a benefit night not too long ago and I'm going to put that big dress back on... and trash it. Ever heard of "trash the dress" sessions before? Google it if not. I'm so excited to do this because I've always said I was going to. Three years later, here we go! Pictures to come soon!


Probably one of my favorite memories!

So pretty, but not for long...



Yeah, this church made it worth it!



and this cake. It sums us up so well!